From the Private Sector to the Public Sector: What Transfers?
Moving between sectors can sometimes feel like starting again. Terminology changes, organisational structures can look unfamiliar, and an organisation's priorities may be very different.
But many of the fundamental skills remain the same.
As Catty explains:
“...different sectors, but ultimately, you're dealing with people if you're working in HR. So there's a lot that's similar.”
For HR professionals, the fundamental challenge remains people: attracting talent, supporting employees, developing teams and helping organisations perform effectively.
Catty found that the similarities between sectors often outweighed the differences.
“The transferable skills relate to the subject matter of what you know and what you do. And I found that there are more similarities than differences.”
This is an important lesson for professionals considering a career transition. Your previous experience doesn't suddenly become irrelevant when you change sectors. The challenge is learning how to translate your experience into language that resonates with a new employer and sector.
Impactpool explores this in more depth in [Making the Leap from Private Sector to Humanitarian Work: What You Need to Know], which looks at the skills private-sector professionals can bring to humanitarian and development organisations — and some of the realities they should prepare for.
Understanding Your Transferable Skills
Not every professional profile transfers in the same way.
Some skills are highly transferable across sectors, while others depend heavily on specific organisational or technical knowledge. Understanding where your experience fits can help you make a more realistic and targeted career transition.
The [Impactpool Career Transition Matrix] offers another useful way to think about the relationship between private-sector and international-organisation careers, particularly when assessing which professional profiles are transferable.
For professionals considering the move in the opposite direction, Impactpool has also explored [12 transferable profiles for moving from an International Organization to the Private Sector].
The key is not simply to ask, “Can I do this job?”
Instead, ask:
“Which parts of my experience solve a problem this organisation needs to solve?”
HR as a Driver of Organisational Transformation
The conversation with Catty also looks beyond recruitment and into the broader role of HR.
HR can play an important role in transforming how employees experience an organisation — from leadership and management to professional development, workplace culture and employee engagement.
One key issue is recognising the importance of good people management.
As Catty explains:
“We weren't valuing good people management enough. We weren't putting a premium on that...”
This raises an important question for organisations across every sector:
Are we giving managers the skills, recognition and support they need to manage people effectively?
Management is sometimes treated as something that sits alongside someone's “real” job. But managing people is a responsibility in its own right — and the quality of that management can have a major influence on how people experience their workplace.
This is particularly relevant in international and humanitarian organisations, where teams may work across countries, cultures and challenging environments.
For another perspective on the changing role of HR, listen to Impactpool's podcast [From the Military to a UN HR Chief: Fresh Perspectives on the Future of Work], featuring UNIDO's HR Director Micheal Conneely. The conversation explores leadership, trust, teamwork, professional development and how HR is adapting to a changing workforce.
What Does It Take to Be a Good Leader?
Being a good leader is about more than managing budgets, meeting targets or having strong technical expertise.
It means creating the conditions for people to succeed.
Good leaders help employees understand their purpose, develop their capabilities and take ownership of their work. They also create environments where people can learn, contribute and grow.
These leadership principles matter even more in humanitarian and international development organisations, where teams operate under significant pressure and in complex environments.
Impactpool's podcast [Building Resilient Teams: Inside Humanitarian Recruitment at the UN] explores this from another angle, focusing on recruitment, team building, and the importance of creating psychologically safe, resilient teams.
What Does It Take to Build a Humanitarian Career?
For professionals considering a move into humanitarian work, one of the biggest questions is simple:
How do you actually get started?
Passion for humanitarian work matters — but it is only part of the picture.
Employers look for professional expertise, relevant skills, contextual understanding, and evidence that candidates can perform in complex environments.
In [Pursuing a Career in Humanitarian Work: Pathways to Joining the ICRC], Impactpool explores what it takes to build a career with the ICRC, including the importance of professional expertise, skills development, curiosity and openness to different career pathways.
Practical considerations also matter when preparing for humanitarian roles. Understanding the organisation, studying the job description carefully, identifying the competencies being assessed and demonstrating relevant evidence can all strengthen your application.
For those interested in working in challenging field environments, Impactpool's [Working in Hardship Locations: How Cross-Cultural Awareness Can Support Your Humanitarian Career] also explores how adaptability, cultural awareness and interpersonal skills can strengthen your career in humanitarian settings.
Your Career Doesn't Have to Follow a Straight Line
Perhaps the biggest lesson from Catty's career is that professional development doesn't always happen in a straight line.
Moving between sectors, functions and organisations can create new opportunities to apply existing skills in different ways.
Your career experience is not simply a collection of job titles. It is a collection of skills, experiences, relationships and lessons that can travel with you.
The challenge is learning how to recognise those transferable strengths — and communicate them clearly to your next employer.
Whether you're an HR professional considering a move into the humanitarian sector, an experienced international development professional exploring new opportunities, or a private-sector professional looking for a career with greater impact, there may be more pathways available to you than you think.
Listen to the full Impactpool Career Podcast with Catty Bennet Sattler to hear more about working across sectors, HR transformation, leadership and building a career in the humanitarian field.